Cattle-guard.



J. H. BULLARD.

CATTLE GUARD. APPLICATION FILEDl MAR. 20| 191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

vwamtoz 1. H. BULLA-RD.

CATTLE GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED IIIAII. 20. Isn.

PMQMGU FMI. V26, 1918,

2 SHEETS-SHEET a.

Wit n @oo :EAMES f-I. `rIIBTJIiltilfiiltfl), OE BEDIAS, `TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH `TO MANE CORNER, ONE-FOURTH TO GARVIN Gr. CRNER, AND ONE-FOURTH T0 MRS. ALVA CORNER, yASML 0F BEDIAS, TEXAS.

CATTLE-GUARD.

Specification of Letters-Patent.

Patentedzieb. 26, 1919,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. BULLARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bedias, in the county of Grimes and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Cattle-Guard, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to cattle guards, and aims to provide a novel and improved device of that character for preventing cattle from passing along a certain point of a railroad track from an inclosure.

lt is the object of the invention to provide a cattle guard of novel construction whereby it will effectively frustrate the attempt of the cattle to escape from the inclosure along the guarded portion of the track, the construction being comparatively simple and inexpensive, and being readily installed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the coinbination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in. the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the cattle guard.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure showing one guard member tilted.

Figs. 3 and t are enlarged sectional details taken on the respective lines 3-3 and 4 4 of F ig. 1.

In the drawings, the guard is illustrated as being applied to a railroad track having the rails 1 supported upon the cross ties 2, and in carrying out the invention, the guard is placed over a shallow hole 3 in the ground. Beams t extend longitudinally nnder and support the cross ties 2 above and adjacent to the hole, and said beams rest upon transverse sleepers 5 at the ends of the hole 3, and also rest upon the ground at their ends, whereby said beams assist in supporting the rails over the hole.

TwoV opposed guard members are employed for preventing the cattle from passing in either direction. Each guard niember embodies a transverse rock shaft or bar 6 extending between the rails 1 and beams 1 and journaled to suitable bearings 7 mounted between said rails and beams. The guard member has a series of parallel bars 9 secured transversely upon the rock shaft 6 lhngitudinally of the track. Some of the bars 9 fill up the space between the rails, and the others are upon the outer sides of the rails, said bars being secured between their ends upon the rock shaft 6.

Strips 12 and 13 parallel with the shaft 6v are secured upon .the ends ofthe bars 9 at the inside and outside of the track. The bars 9 are flat between the strips 12 and shaft 6 of each guard member, and between said shaft and strips 13 are provided with upper V-shaped ridges 10.

In order to normally hold the adjacent edges of the two guard members upon an intermediate cross tie 2, each shaft 6 is provided adjacent to one end with a crank arm la to which a curved leaf spring 15 has one end attached, the other terminal of said leaf spring extending under a cross piece 16 and being secured to the opposite side thereof, asV seen in Fig. 2. |"the cross piece 16 is secured to the beams 4 below the intermediate tie 2 upon which the guard members rest under the influence of the springs, which hold the adjacent portions of the guard members downwardly. rllhe hole 3 permits the portions of the guard members farthest remote from one another to be depressed.

When the cattle attempt to walk over the guard, they tread upon the portions 9 of the bars S thereby depressing them, which will swing the opposite portions of the bars upwardly, thereby providing an obstruction. rlhe portions 9 being fiat will prevent the hoofs of the cattle from being caught, and the strips 12 will also prevent the feet of the cattle from slipping off of the bars 8 when they are depressed. Attention is directed to the fact that when the flat tread portions 9 are depressed, those portions of the bars having the sharp ridges 10 are swung upwardly toward the cattle, so that said ridges bump or strike the noses of the cattle, thereby turning Jthem back. Y

l Havingv thus described the invention, what is claimed as newisz-fd Acattle guard embodying a supporting structure7 a rock shaft, a guard member secured on said shaft and extending to opposite sides thereof, and a leaf spring secured to the supporting structure below one portionrof said'guard member and extending downwardly and curved Vunder said member,

CopiesV of this patent may be obtained for the free end of the leaf spring` being curved upwardly and connected to said portion of the guard member to swing it downwardly l5 to a horizontal position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. BULLARD.

Witnesses:

(LR. DAVIS, L. S. STUMPLEY.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner o! Iatents, vTlashngton, D. C. 

